


The Language of Sand

by GrayscaleAtmosphere



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, But I wouldn't consider it a crossover, Demon?Reader, F/M, Heavily influenced by Sly Cooper, I dont specify an age, In my mind they are aged up a bit tho, Ninjas - Freeform, Romance, i dont even know ok, i tried to keep Gaara in character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-06-14 08:40:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15384978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrayscaleAtmosphere/pseuds/GrayscaleAtmosphere
Summary: On the night of your fifth birthday, you died.When you met Gaara, you lived.





	1. Sidereal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sidereal: determined by or from the stars

_You woke up with a sleepy yawn and dazedly looked around your cozy bedroom. A few moments pass, then you remember what day it is. You grin widely and jump out of bed, racing downstairs into the kitchen where you heard your parents idly chatting. When you get there, you see your mother reading at the table while your father busies himself at the counter._

_"Hello, Mommy. Hello, Daddy." You say excitedly, rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet. Father glances at you over his shoulder and smiles._

_"Hello dear."_

_"Morning sweetie." Mother says without looking at you. You grow confused and pout._

_"Do you know what day it is?" You try again, grin slipping back._

_"Hm...Thursday?" Father asks._

_"Yes, dear it’s Thursday." Mother confirms. Your naïve heart falls and you look at the floor._

_"Oh. Okay." You mutter, turning around. In front of you is your housekeeper Sylera and in her hands is a bright yellow party hat that she promptly secures to your head._

_"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" You hear your parents holler from behind you. You spin back around and see your mom and dad facing you with big smiles on their faces. Your dad is holding a decorated cake in his hands and your mother picks up a present she was hiding behind her legs._

_"You remembered!!" You laughed, hurrying to the table and plopping yourself into the dining chair eagerly._

_"Of course we did! How could we forget about something so important? Five years old is a huge milestone, you know." he smiles. You laugh gleefully._

_Once you had finished eating your cake and opening your gifts, your mother told you to pick some flowers from the garden to make crowns and bracelets from, so you raced outside to the garden past the shrine of your family’s emblem; the raccoon. You were gathering an abundance of small flowers into your arms until they were nearly overflowing in your tiny hands. That’s when you saw it. A glimmer of light—the sun hit something shiny from within the woods that encircled your house. You didn’t realize how close to the woods you had gotten; you were practically inside them._

_You weren’t allowed in there without one of your parents with you; that’s because your family had to hide from other people. Your family made a name for themselves as world-class thieves who only stole from other criminals (Your father once told you there was no challenge, fun, or pride to be gained stealing from ordinary people). That all changed when you came along. When you were born they decided to retire their infamous life of crime to instead live peacefully raising you. But that doesn’t mean people stopped looking for them. Your family had powerful enemies, and they were even more powerful now that your family has tried leaving that life behind._

_Nervously you began to walk towards the house, your eyes never leaving where you saw the glinting metal._

_"This is the one right?" A black hooded figure rasps out, stepping towards you through the trees with a sharp kunai knife in his hand. Your eyes widened when your back hit someone behind you._

_“Yeah…” A gruff voice rumbled behind you. A heavy hand clasped the back of your neck to keep you in place. Your blood ran cold. “You sure this is isn’t a trap? I mean, the Hoshikage sure as hell ain’t no saint or nothin’, but is he really okay with killin’ a kid?”_

_“Relax. This is our in. We’re invincible with the Hoshikage backing us like he is. Besides, this shit’s personal with him, so you know it’s the real thing.” The first figure replies, “Now let’s get this over with.”_

_And then they lunge. You scream. They punch and kick. They stab and claw and tear. No intention of making this painless or clean is evident. You don't know how long it lasted, but eventually the excruciating pain stops, as well as your muffled cries and screams. Everything is numb as your vision grows dark, then soothingly bright. There's a loud bass in your ears, repeating itself steadily, but beginning to struggle and fade until it is no longer there along with the light._

_You felt like you had been asleep for forty years, but at the same time only five minutes. You could not see, but you weren’t looking, you couldn't feel, and you couldn't hear. Had you any grip on reality you would have been scared. Slowly, your body began to ache; behind your closed lids burned red. You saw something you couldn't make out. It was red, not bright from the supposed light on the other side, but dark like blood. Then you saw small orbs glowing the lightest mix of shades between blue and green stare back at you blankly. You found yourself mesmerized by them for one content moment before a violent jolt to your body threw you forward, one more image flashing before you as you did._

_Love._

_Blinding light gnaws at your eyes as your body cringes in a numbing ache. It was like you had been dead then brought back to life, and your body was as unexpecting of the revival as you were. You suddenly hear a twinkling laugh below you and glance down. Leaning against your legs was a sweet looking gray and black raccoon._

_"Silly girl, that's because you_ _were _dead. I brought you back to life." she said, nose twitching slightly. You bite your lip nervously (which causes a string of pain to pierce your mouth you’re your split lip). Had this animal read your thoughts? And it had the ability to talk.__

_"Well of course I can read your thoughts. We are of the same life now, you and I. And I am no animal, girl, I am a raccoon demon; I am called Suterusu."_

_Your eyes widen. "D-demon?! P-please d-don't kill me!" You beg, terrified. Suterusu growls and scratches at your leg roughly, making you flinch._

_"Idiot girl! Did you not hear me?! I brought you_ _back _to life! If I wanted you dead I wouldn't have killed your murderers and given half of my own life force to bring you back!" she growls at you. You pause and process what she just said.__

_“Why… did you bring me back?” You asked._

_"I am a guardian of your clan. Many years ago, the founder of (Last Name) Clan made a deal with me to make this family what it is. Since the retirement of the most recent thief—your father—I have been sleeping; lying in wait for the legacy to take on the mantle and revive the clan’s name. It is much too soon for you to be learning this or to truly show you what I have to offer, but I had no other choice. This only means you must work even harder now to learn to protect yourself and fight.”_

_"It’s different this time though isn’t it? You’re not just lending me power, you actually fused with me to bring me back to life." You say quietly, trying to take it all in with so many questions._

_"Yes, you’re correct. You mustn’t tell anyone under any circumstance, do you understand? What I did to save you… it’s taboo. It would be a great danger for anyone to know.”_

_“I understand…” You said, even though you were secretly desperately wishing for this to be a terrible dream._

_“I know this is difficult to process especially at your age, but you must try to understand and do exactly as I tell you. You may not see me, but I am always close by. Our fusion will allow us to see each other, even if I’m not really there in front of you. We must walk cautiously, (Name), for the world has thrown us into its depths and we must survive.” Suterusu walked away from me as she spoke, her body dissipating into a soft blue light._

_“Your family knows of your death, but nothing more. Remember that you must keep silent of this, but you should go back to them. They are the only ones we can turn to.” You heard the echo of her voice in your head._

_You slowly rise, muscles stiff and screaming in protest at every movement. What would you tell your parents? What if the wrong people found out you were alive again? You started making your way back to your home. Where were you even?_

_As you pushed yourself through a tall thicket within the woods, a faint and strange shimmer melted the trees around you and you found yourself where the men that attacked you had emerged from. Darkened stains of blood still marked the ground, and you shivered involuntarily. You looked behind you and noticed the thicket was gone. It must have been some sort of illusion Suterusu conjured to protect the two of you while you recovered._

_You stepped out of the woods and stared at your house across the field. Your heart swelled with relief at the sight of it. Tears rushed to your eyes and you began to run towards your house but your body was having none of it and you quickly tumbled to the soft ground, eliciting a yelp out of you._

_"Who's there?!" A familiar voice calls. It’s your father, but he sounds tired and worn. Still, the sound of his voice causes more tears to come, and you push your crying muscles to the limit to reach him._

_"Papa! Papa!" You stumble towards the steps leading to your house and your father, wrapping your arms around him tightly. Father stiffens and gently grabs your shoulders, pulling you back and staring at you with a scared look in his eyes. Recognition and disbelief flash across his face and his eyes soften, big tears rolling down his face._

_"(Name)!" He gasps out, falling to his knees and hugging you to him tightly. "(Name) you're alive! Oh God you're alive! Kasuka! Kasuka come here quickly!" He sobs out. You cry right along with him._

_"Honey what is it? Who's that in your arms?" She asks, sounding as sad as Papa first did. He pulls back and shows you to her._

_"Its (Name)! Its our baby girl! Oh how are you alive?! No-no, I don't care as long as this is real! Kasuka our daughter is back!" Daddy cries into your shoulder._

_Mother is silent._

  
_"Shinsou. This is not our daughter. Our daughter is dead; this isn't my (Name)." She finally says quietly. You stare at her._

_"Mama?"_

_"Kasuka what are you talking about?! This is (Name)! This is our daughter-!"_

_"NO!” Your mother screamed suddenly, putting her hands over her ears, “No this isn't her! Get out of here you wretched monster! I am not your mother!" Daddy picks you up and cradles you to his chest, standing. Your heart stings terribly at Mother's harsh words._

_  
_"Kasuka! This is our daughter, and she is not going anywhere. She's back, she's home now." He says firmly, then looks at you, rubbing some dried blood off your cheek. "look at you sweetie, your so dirty. Let's get you cleaned up." he says much more softly, before turning towered the house. Before stepping inside, he looks over his shoulder. "Take some time to calm down, Kasuka, and come join the family."__

_Upstairs, as Father began washing and cleaning you, you finally noticed how awful you looked. Dried blood and dirt was caked all over you so thickly it nearly looked black. You definitely looked dead._

_"Daddy? Why didn't Mommy recognize me?" You ask quietly after your father gently pours warm soapy water over you._

_"Don't let her get to you, (Name). She's just in a little state of shock. Besides, you’re so dirty I'm surprised even I recognized you." He responds, making your giggle a little. He smiles and brings a wet cloth to the area around your eyes. He rubs, pauses, and frowns. He rubs a little harder and looks at the cloth, frowning again. "How odd. It's not dirt...or a bruise."_

_You stare confusedly at him but he just shrugs and smiles. Then he begins to wash my hair, but soon another frown creases his face. "Again?" You blink and furrow your brows. You peer into the reflection of the faucet and see what he's talking about._

_  
Around your eyes were heavy circles of black like coal and through your hair thick, dirty black and gray strands slithered through. I bite my lip when I realize what a bear resemblance too._

_A raccoon._

* * *

 

After that day, your father obsessed over your "murder" and who was behind it. He left one day to follow a trail despite your pleading protests. He was never seen again.

Your mother never believed you were her daughter and would go into hysterics whenever you called her Mother. Your only friend was Sylera now, but even that turned out to be too good to be true for on one deceitfully beautiful day, a group of ANBU came to take you away. Mother had surrendered you to the Hoshikage to relieve herself of the torment you were causing her. Sylera was leading the ANBU.

* * *

 

_You ran a fast and as far as you could. Your hands and face were stained with blood. Tears dripped down your face as you silently begged God to let you forget. You clutched the metal in your hand tighter as you looked at the village gates, running past them and leaving the Village Hidden in the Stars forever._

_You walked for hours, having no idea of where to go. Your village was far from everywhere. Suterusu spoke to you in your head and she directed you to food sources. However, the foliage around you soon grew then until you found yourself in a desert. Nothing could shield you from the sun’s unforgiving heat; nighttime was the only way you could travel, but it was during this time your teeth chattered._

_Finally, you see civilization in the distance. You would have cried had you not been so dehydrated. Your thirst did not deter you from being cautious about the guards, so you throw a rock at a metal plate against one of the towering red rocked walls to distract them. The village inside was quiet, the sand beneath your feet finally cooling down. As you ventured deeper, you hear voices. They lead you to a small park, but you stay out of sight when you realize the voices are yelling. The voices belong to children who look to be your age, but you don’t get to observe them long as they turn and run in the other direction from something._

_Curious, you peek over the corner and see that they weren’t running from something—rather someone. On the swing set is a boy with deep red hair and dark rings around his eyes like yours; A feeling of Deja Vu sweeps over you. He was looking down and clutching a teddy bear so you couldn't see his eyes, but you could tell that he seemed very sad. You walk over to him slowly, getting curiouser and curiouser. You stop directly in front of him and he looks up with watery seafoam green eyes._

_“Hello…” You greeted softly, “Were those kids running from you?” His eyes widened, and he quickly looked down looking more hurt than ever. You winced regretfully, “What’s your name?” You tried again. He remained silent. “I’m (Name). It’s nice to meet you.” He looked up this time with a surprised expression._

_“N-nice to meet you.” The boy replied in a small voice. He paused, wondering if he should give his name. You clearly did not know of him, but maybe you’ve heard his name. If he told you, you might run just like those kids did. Still, he wanted desperately to trust you. “My name is Gaara.”_

_“That’s a nice name!” You replied with a smile, wanting to cheer him up and make up for your previous slip up, “I like your bear, too.”_

_“You’re… not scared of me?” He asked, sounding as if he had regretted asking, and fearfully clutched his bear._

_“Why would I be?” You asked._

_“If I tell you, you’ll run too.” You frown at his answer and reach out to touch his hands. He looked shocked and dropped his teddy bear. “Y-You’re touching me…” No one ever touched him, especially when he wasn’t expecting them too._

_“I’m sorry!” You quickly said, pulling your hands back, “But… I promise I won’t run okay?” Gaara’s hesitation was evident._

_“I have a monster inside me. It lets me do this,” He begins, holding his hand out. Sand curls around it as if by magic. “Sometimes I can’t control it. That’s why no one wants to be my friend.”_

_“Well I think they’re just a bunch of jerks who’re jealous. Anyway, I’ll be your friend!” You responded with a smile._

_“Really?” Gaara asked in wonderment, looking at you hopefully._

_“Of course! If it makes you feel better, I ran away from home because everyone hated me there so that kind of makes us alike. Plus, we have the same rings around our eyes so that makes us really alike! It’s like destiny that we should be friends, right?”_

_“Y-Yeah!” Gaara smiled at you, jumping off the swing and picking up his teddy bear. His eyes were full of excitement when he looked at you. “If you have nowhere to go, you can stay with me!_

_“W-well, if you don’t mind…” You said shyly._

_"C'mon!!" He yells happily, grabbing my hand."You can stay with me! You know, I think my monster likes you. Oh! You must be thirsty; we have plenty of water at home! And you get to meet Yashamaru; he's really nice…" He rambled on, making you smile._

_You felt happy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This chapter was in italics because it's a memory. Most chapters will not be formatted this way.


	2. Indwell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Indwell: to be permanently present in someone's soul or mind

Warm sunlight trickles into your bedroom from the haphazardly drawn curtains of your window, gently waking you up. You lay there for a moment in bed, pondering the dream you just stirred from.

‘Dreams are supposed to be nonsensical whimsies,’ You thought bitterly, ‘not memories’.

You slowly lifted yourself out of bed and began getting ready for the day. You slid on a dark colored short dress and black spandex shorts underneath and your matching lightweight boots—the traditional sandals made your footsteps too noisy. You rolled your long sleeves up to your elbows, tied your items pack around your right thigh, and slipped on a pair of thin black gloves. As you gathered your multicolored locks into a ponytail, your mind wandered back to your dream.

‘Gaara. I wonder how you’re doing…’

You reached down to your side table and grabbed a pair of scissors. Staring down at the closed steel blades weighing your hand down, you thought back to the first time you ever used them. You shook your head quickly, trying to get the image of gushing blood out of your mind. You took another matching pair of scissors (much less sentimental than the last) and brought them up to your head and stuck them where you had bunched your hair together as if they were chopsticks.

‘I wonder if your father ever told you… Probably not.’

A knock at your front door breaks you out of your rather depressing thoughts. You quickly tied your black Leaf Headband around your neck and headed outside. You found your teammates outside your door: Kisai and Suji.

Kisai was the brains of your group; she’s the smartest person you have ever met in your life. She makes all of your plans of action and is an amazing strategist. She isn’t very strong and she gets scared easily, but what she lacks in courage and strength she easily makes up for in sheer intelligence.

Then there’s Suji. He’s the exact opposite of Kisai; all muscle, Suji rarely relies on Genjutsu or Ninjutsu, instead using his fists. And that’s all he really needs. You’ve seen him take down a dozen people at once without even breaking a sweat. He finds strategy plans boring and long, but he still gets the job done in his own not-so-subtle way. He’d much rather act first and let Kisai ask questions later, but Suji is very kind at heart and even a little sensitive.

Kisai and Suji are brother and sister. You met them at the orphanage you were dumped at when you were taken to this village. Ever since you met them, the three of you have always been together. They were your best friends.

“Hey, (Name)!” Kisai greeted you, adjusting her glasses and shifting her little black book she always carried around in her arms, “What do want to do today? There’s some new books at the library.” She suggests, making Suji groan beside her.

“How boring. I say we head to the training grounds!”

“Let’s go see what those Jounin are guarding on the West side of the Village. I bet it’s pretty valuable.”

Suddenly, a cloud of white smoke appeared beside your team to reveal your sensei, Kakashi. His visible eye crinkled, showing that he was smiling at you guys. “Hey, team.”

“Hi, Kakashi-Sensei!” Kisai greeted warmly, “Is there something you need?”

“Yeah, you realize we’re your night team right? You don’t have to train us until dark, remember?” You said, knowing he had a tendency to mix you and Naruto’s team up sometimes as if he didn’t ever know the time. Kakashi chuckled a little.

“Yeah, yeah I know. I just wanted to tell you all the news now since I forgot to mention it to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.”

“Tell us what?” Suji asked, cocking an eyebrow. Kisai suddenly gasps.

“Did you chose to let us participate in the Chunin Exams?” She asked in disbelief. You and Suji share a look. Of course she knows.

“Yes, I did. Nice deduction, Kisai. You have a few days to decide whether you want to take the test or not; here are your registration forms.” Kakashi gave you each your papers and left you to make your decisions. You felt a smirk tug at your lips; you didn’t need any time decide. Of course you were doing this. It’s another step to becoming stronger and honing your skills.

“Oh I am so in!” Suji grins excitedly beside you. You grin back and nod.

“I did some research on this year’s exam proctors. One of them specializes in what people refer to as… ‘mind torture’,” Kisai said, shuddering at the thought, “there’s bound to be a field mission on top of that, and combat tournaments are a no brainer. I… I don’t know if I can do all that.” She whimpers, clutching her book to her chest. You look at her sympathetically.

“It’s alright if you think you’re not ready. There’s always next year.” You said comfortingly, giving her shoulder a pat. “You can just root me and Suji on this time.” Kisai remained quiet.

“I’m gonna head to the library and think things over. See you.” And just like that she was gone. You sighed and looked at Suji.

“She’ll be alright. She’s just nervous, but like you said she doesn’t have to do it!” Suji told you, “Anyway, I’d better go get some training in. I’m all pumped up! You in?”

“Nah, you go ahead. I’ll see you tonight for Kakashi’s training.” You waved him off, knowing the last time you did weight training with Suji plus Kakashi’s field exercises you could barely lift your arms the next day. 

“Suit yourself! I wonder if Kiba or Shikamaru’s team got in…” You watched with a laugh as Suji left for the training grounds all riled up.

You decided to go to the West end of Konoha to try and get a sneak peak of the specially guarded item that just came into town, but on your way you found Naruto causing a ruckus with Sakura and some kids. You couldn’t help but play a prank on the once-notorious prankster.

“Hey, Naruto.” You greeted, walking over to him. He turned and grinned at you.

“Oh hey (Name)! Long time no see! I still gotta tell you about our mission in the Mist Village, it was insane!”

“Hm, well they certainly didn’t pay you much for it.” You said casually, sifting through his green frog wallet. Naruto gawked at you in shock, feeling around his pockets in disbelief that you had _his_ wallet.

“W-What?! How—?! (Name)!” He sputtered. You only laughed, tossing his wallet back to him which he caught clumsily.

“You get distracted easily, you know. Relax, I didn’t take anything.”

“Ha! She sure got you, Naruto!” A young boy with a long blue scarf shouted, pointing at Naruto. Naruto groaned.

“How do you even do that so well! I just don’t get it. I want to be all sneaky like that too! So cool…” He whined. You stifled a laugh, remembering back when he tried your sleight-of-hand tricks at the academy and got a week’s detention for it.

“It’s a gift.” You answered. The kid teasing Naruto turned to his friend and grabbed her pack quickly, running away with it.

“Hey! Give that back!” The girl whined. The boy turned his head to laugh, but ended up running into someone. It was a ninja you’d never seen before; he was dressed in all black and hard purple markings painted on his face. Something large was hidden in wrappings that he carried on his back. A girl stood next to him with blonde hair she tied up into four short ponytails, an athletic kimono dress with fishnet underneath, and what looked like an extremely oversized metal fan on her back.

They look sort of familiar.

Suddenly, the ninja has the boy that ran into him in the air holding him by his collar. Everyone gasps at him. The girl beside him speaks up, unfazed by his brother’s aggressive actions.

“Put him down, Kankuro, or you know you’ll pay for it later.” She warned.

Kankuro?

“Konohamaru!” Naruto called out the boy. Konohamaru struggled.

“We got a dew minutes before he shows up,” Kankuro replies to the girl, “Let’s mess with these punks.” His grip on Konohamaru tightened, causing him to kick in discomfort. Naruto growled and ran at Kankuro, but suddenly he fell flat on his face. Your brows furrowed in confusion, but when you looked closer you saw a barely visible string of chakra at ankle level where Naruto had tripped. Kankuro’s fingers twitched a little and you realized he was manipulating the string. So that’s a puppet on his back… You’d heard about that fighting style, but never have seen it. “Looks like your village is full of wimps!”

You scoff, “Says the guy who’s picking on a little kid.”

Kankuro glares at you and drops the kid carelessly, stalking toward you, “You little brat. I’ll bet you’re just as easy as this stupid punk. I don’t usually hit girls, but I’m in a bad mood today.” He rears his arm back and you stare him down, ready. Just as he is about to strike, a rock smacks into his wrist making him grunt. He shakes his wrist in pain and you take his moment of distraction to hook your ankle around his and knock his feet clean out from under him. He lands roughly to the ground and swears.

You back up and look to see Sasuke kneeling on a tree branch with rock in his hand, “You’re way out of your league.” He tells Kankuro, crushing the rock to dust in his hand. Kankuro growls as he gets to his feet, looking livid.

“Now I’m really pissed off.” He says, taking the puppet off his back still hidden in wrappings. You glare at him. ‘He wouldn’t.’

“Kankuro. That’s enough.” A cold voice commands. Kankuro freezes up and the girl next to him looks terrified. You look towards to the voice, and you see it.

You see _him._

His maroon colored hair, glowing blue-green eyes ringed with black, and black bandana bearing the Sand village symbol.

It’s Gaara…!

You immediately notice a scar on his forehead. It’s the kanji for ‘Love’. What happened? His face is so harsh and cold. His eyes are cruel and dark. This isn’t the Gaara you knew.

“You’re in embarrassment to our village,” He continued. His voice was low and full of malice. It was like black ice. “Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?”

No… No, this can’t be right.

“T-they challenged us. It was them who started the whole thing really.” Kankuro stammered his excuses, not even making eye contact with Gaara.

They… Kankuro and Temari…His siblings. They never… warmed up to him?

Your heart ached. What could have happened to Gaara since you left? What has he become?

“Shut up… or I’ll kill you.” Gaara hisses menacingly, making the hair on the back of your neck rise. He was truly intimidating. He seemed entirely unpredictable and dangerous. He was a total stranger to you know; other than his appearance, nothing about him was familiar to you. The Gaara you knew never would have threatened to kill anyone. “I’m sorry for any trouble he caused.” Gaara says slowly to your group. Kankuro flinched; you had a feeling Gaara didn’t like apologizing and that Kankuro would be paying the price for it. Sand gathered around Gaara’s body until he disappeared. He reappeared next to his siblings, “Let’s go.” They began to walk away.

“Wait!” You called out quickly. They stopped and turned to you. You didn’t know what to say, not with all these people around, but you didn’t want him to leave. You had just gotten him back. After all these years. He can’t go. Gaara’s eyes land on yours, and you suddenly feel small. He glances over your form, landing back on your face with an expressionless look. Had he not recognized you?

“You’re from the Village Hidden in the Sand!” Sakura spoke up, indirectly saving you, “Of course, the Land of Fire and Wind are allies, but no shinobi can enter another village without permission. So state your purpose!”

Kakashi still hasn’t told them?

“What, have you all been living under a rock? We _have_ permission.” Temari said snidely, holding up her entry document. You crossed your arms, slightly because you were beginning to feel exposed under Gaara’s stare that still has not left you.

“They’re here for the Chunin Exams.” You tell Naruto’s team. You think of how ironic it is that the first time you see Gaara again, you have to potentially compete against him. Gaara merely grunted and turned back around.

“Hey, you! With the gourd on your back,” Sasuke spoke up finally. Gaara turned his head in response, “Identify yourself.”

“My name is Gaara of the Sand.” He says, turning fully around to face the rest of you. Hearing the confirmation on his lips made your heart skip a beat, “I’m curious about you too. Who are you? Both of you.”

“I am Sasuke Uchiha.” Sasuke says, standing straight. Gaara’s gaze turns to you. You hesitate.

The people in Konoha don’t know your true last name. You’ve kept it secret in fear of the wrong people hearing about you when you weren’t strong enough. Suterusu warned you that you’d need to be ready. But you did want Gaara to recognize you. He’s been alone for too long.

“(Name).” You said simply, hoping he would recognize you by just your first name. To your dread, his eyes narrow dangerously at you. Temari and Kankuro share a nervous glance at each other.

“I thought you looked familiar.” He hissed, glaring venomously at you. You couldn’t stand to see him look at you like that.

“I bet you’re dying to know my name, right?!” Naruto shouted, breaking the tension.

“I couldn’t care less.” Gaara responded coldly, turning around and leaving with his siblings. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding.

“Hey, (Name), did you know that guy?” Naruto asked you. You realize everyone is staring you. You just shrug and walk away. You didn’t want to lose their trails. Despite his anger, you weren’t giving up on him.

‘I have to make things right. I need to find Gaara.’


End file.
